Where the Heart lies
by Kitpup16
Summary: [Akuroku] "Our goal here is to reconnect with our past selves. All of us were once someone before the heartless ripped that away from us and made us into who we are today. Or rather what we feel today. Nobodies." First three chapters is Sora before he changes his name to Roxas. Ch 4 Axel makes his first appearance All chapters edited 6/2/16 Side pairings : Soriku , Zemyx
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

It was the sensation of falling that he felt first. Falling further and deeper into the cold darkness. Yet oddly enough, he only felt at peace. He felt no sadness, anger, or any danger. He had been falling for so long that his fear of the impact below was long gone. Rather, he learned to welcome it by now. The life he lived before was filled will hardship and hopelessness that he never wanted to return. If he had to die then so be it.

His welcomed death never came as he had hoped. When he did reach the ground; gravity took control by lifting him and setting him back on his feet so that he landed gracefully. Curiosity had filled him more than his sheer disappointment. Taking a look below him, he saw that the ground he had landed on was a stain glass looking platform. A boy his age with brown spiky hair laid before him as if sleeping with a peaceful smile. Next to the boy's head was four blue circles that were filled with pictures of a boy with silver locks, a girl with short red hair, a dog, and a duck.

Cautiously, he took a step forward to get a better look at the boy. "Where am I?" he whispered to himself. He did not expect a reply. He had been alone in this dark abyss for so long that he figured he was the only one who resided here. He was lonely and craved human contact at first but after a while, you get used to it.

"Hello"

He stiffed immediately when he heard the voice of another behind him. He was so surprised that he quickly turned around to face the said person, only to fall on his ass. The person was the boy from the picture below him. He looked just like the picture, only he held a goofy smile on his face rather than a peaceful one.

"I'm Sora. What's your name?" the boy asked.

Looking down at his lap, he didn't know how the reply. He had been here for so long that eventually his memories faded away. He could no longer remember his own name. "I don't know" he whispered.

He didn't expect Sora to hear him but the boy did. He must have found his reply quite amusing for Sora burst out laughing at him; causing his cheeks to go red in embarrassment. "You don't know? You sure are strange"

He was about to shout at the boy for insulting him but Sora beat him to it. "You're welcome to stay here until you figure it out if you want."

He thought it over. He had nowhere else to go. It was also rather warm and bright here than being stuck in the cold darkness. Besides, the company could be enjoyable.

He nodded his head when his mind was made up. "Alright. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Sora only smiled as he raised his arms to rest above his head.

"Sora, sweetie, please wake up."

He tried to open his eyes like the voice kindly asked but whenever he even opened a tiniest bit a blinding light would catch him off guard and he was forced to shut them tightly and groan in discomfort.

"He's waking up! Oh thank god!"

A warm hand settled on his cheek as tears fell on his bare skin. He didn't know the owner of the said voice but whoever it was they had to be important to them for them to cry over him. How come he couldn't recall who this person was? It was really rude of him to forget. Especially since he made them worry so much over him.

Taking it slow, he was able to finally open his eyes and let them adjust to the lighting of the room. The walls were pure white, as were his bed sheets, and the place was littered with what looked like very expensive machines.

To his left, he saw the crying woman. She was beautiful. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a braid, her skin held a soft creamy glow, and her green crystal eyes were glistened with tears. As he stared at her, the woman gave him an angelic smile. "Thank god, you're okay." She told him. It was only then that he noticed the death grip she had on his hand.

"Dude, you okay? You're unnaturally quiet." Another voice spoke.

He looked further down to see that the woman was not here alone. Next to her sat a young woman with short black hair. Her clothes were dark and stylish with a giant throwing star on her back. He didn't recognize her either. Not even the faintest memory was coming to him.

"Sora?" the woman from before captured his attention. Her features had changed from relief to worry. "Are you okay?"

He opened his mouth to speak but when he tried, he found himself in a fit of coughs. The woman kindly helped him sit up and offered him water to which he greedily drank. When his throat no longer felt scratchy he tried again. "Um, I'm sorry but… do I know you?"

Neither of the women moved a muscle as they stared at him in what he could only guess was shock before the girl started laughing. "That's not funny Sora. We have been worried sick about you. This isn't the time for jokes."

He could only advert his gaze to his lap unsure how to ask them again. They clearly didn't believe him but he honestly couldn't remember. If only they gave him a hint, maybe the memories would resurface. "I'm sorry." He mumbled.

It was quiet for a few moments before he heard the woman stand to whisper something in the girl's ear. There was a sharp intake of breath before the girl suddenly shouted, "You don't serious believe him, do you? Mom, he's playing a joke. A rather unfunny one but a joke. "

There was a few more moments of whispering before the girl huffed and slammed the door behind her when she stomped out. He kept his eyes on his lap the entire time, unwilling to face them.

The woman sat back down in her seat by his side. They sat there in silence, unsure of how to proceed. What did you say when you forgot everything?

"You really don't remember do you, Sora?" she asked gently. He could only shake his head. The woman sighed before giving him the answers he so craved. "My name is Aerith. I'm your mother. The girl who just left was your older sister, Yuffie. You were attacked by the heartless when you were trying to save your friend, Kairi. You've been in the hospital asleep now for three days. We've been so worried about you."

He could only swallow the lump that formed in his throat at the news. That explained the girl's outburst from before. He couldn't blame her for being upset. He'd be upset too if someone had forgotten him. Still, there was just one more thing that was bothering him.

"Mom?" he whispered.

"Yes?"

"My name… is it Sora?"

Aerith never answered him but she didn't need to. Her cries were enough for him to figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2: Struggles

The doctors' ran tests on him for about a week before finally releasing him. Apparently memory loss was not listed as a side effect to a heartless attack. Needless to say, it's now listed.

Aerith visited him every day with a photo album every time. She told him she was trying to catch him up so that he wouldn't be confused when he returned home but he suspected she wanted something to jog his memory. Nothing worked. He so badly wanted it to so that he could see her smile but instead all he saw was utter disappointment and grief. She tried to hide it from him but it was plain as day on her face.

Yuffie never returned after he woke up. Aerith told him that she had to go back to work in Radiant Garden but Sora knew that it was because she couldn't bare the thought of him not knowing her. He felt grateful for her disappearance. It was hard enough to not let Aerith's grief get to him.

When it came time to return home to Destiny Islands, Sora felt uneasy. Aerith was excited about his return but Sora wanted nothing more than to run in the other direction. He knew that Aerith was hoping that once he was home, he would start to remember but at this point, Sora gave up hope. He wasn't going to remember. So he wasn't looking forward to the day that Aerith would come to this realization. Not to mention a whole bloody island filled with people.

He was told that he was once popular. So popular that he was friends with everyone. He was not looking forward to all those disappointed faces. Then there came problem number two, Riku. His boyfriend. Aerith said that she talked to him and explained everything about Sora's condition but who knows, Riku could try to kiss him expecting the memories to resurface like magic only to get memoryless him. That was a conversation he didn't want to have. Oh why couldn't he have been a loser? At least then no one would have known him and he wouldn't have to worry so much.

The gentle knock on his door broke his thoughts. He turned to see Aerith waiting for him by his now open door. "You ready?" she asked with a bright smile filled with hope.

Sora let out a big breath before giving her a forced smile. After she had told him that he was once cheerful and loud, he had tried his best to be just like that but it was a hard face to put on. Well, he can't hide at the hospital forever. He might as well get this over with.

As Sora walked down the street towards the train station, his mother put a gentle arm around his shoulders to reassure him. He gave a small smile but the butterflies in his stomach still made him feel uneasy.

It took a month for Aerith to come to grips on the fact that Sora's memories just might not ever come back. She had spent the whole day crying in her room and refused to talk to anyone. Sora was deeply concerned that this was going to be his new reality but that concern was annihilated when Aerith returned to normal the next day as if nothing had happened in the previous. He was relieved to see that the disappointed look he frequently saw in her eyes were now gone.

If only everyone else could reach the same conclusion as Aerith did. It was hard enough to walk down the street without running into someone who he had known before. Worst cases were when they had not gotten the memo of his condition and fully expected him to know who they were. Some would even get so angry that they would yell at him until some passerby would see and explain the situation. It was frustrating as hell. So in the end Sora just stopped leaving his house all together. It was easier this way, he had reasoned.

He spent most of his days reading, playing video games, or simply browsing the internet. Aerith once laughed at him when she noticed his change in activity. She said that she once had a hard time keeping him indoors even if he was bed ridden sick. It was different for her see. He had expected to see sadness at her statement but was heavily surprised to see acceptance. He was lucky to have such a kind and understanding woman for a mother.

Out of everyone when it came to the acceptance of the new Sora, Riku was the worst of them all. He truly believed that his memories would return. While that was indeed romantic, it was fairly annoying to Sora. Riku would constantly stop by every day to hang out with Sora and each and every time, he would not shut up about their past together. He starting to sound like a broken record at this point. He tried to have patience and give the guy the benefit of the doubt and at least give them a shot of being the amazing couple he was told that they were but Sora wanted nothing more than to strangle the guy. He was annoying as hell. At this rate, Sora was going to snap and he had a feeling that when he did, it was going to be huge.

"Then there was that one time you thought there was monster who lived in the cave at the base of the tree. Remember that?" Riku asked as he watched Sora who was deeply engrossed into his game.

"Nope" Sora popped his lips at the p. He had heard this story before but he wasn't going to tell him that in case Riku confused it for actual memories.

Riku's eye twitch in annoyance. "It was actually wind echoing inside"

"Huh, that so." Sora leaned back a little with his controller when the boss he was fighting got a little too close for comfort. He had been battling this particular boss for a week now and he had never gotten this close to defeating him as he was now. He only needed to give a few more hits for him to go down.

"Sora, are you listening to me?" Riku asked even though he knew the answer. It was the same thing every day. Really, Sora could at least try to get his memories back. It was like he didn't even care. Well Riku cared. He wanted his Sora back. As much of a pain in ass goof he was, he was also always kind and sincere in everything he did. All Riku wanted was his Sora to come back so that he can hold him in his arms once more.

"Yep, of course I am." Sora told him automatically. He was so close now. All he needed was one more good hit.

Sadly, Sora never got to beat that boss. Riku had leaned forward and turned off his gaming system before he even got to save.

Sora stood in outrage. "What the hell, Riku!?" he shouted as he threw his controller down. As any other gamer out there would know, you never messed with them in the middle of a boss fight.

"You're not even trying to get your memories back! Don't you care!?" Riku shouted back as he stood up, facing the equally enraged Sora.

"Of course I care but it's been months and there has been no sign what so ever of them coming back! They are never coming back! " Sora's face flared up in anger. It was a fight that had been bubbling up for a while now. It was bound to happen at some point. In the corner of his eye, Sora saw his mother run around the corner to see what the commotion was about. He could see the worry across her face yet he didn't stop there for her sake. He was too far gone in anger at this point. "Why can't you just accept that, Riku!? Accept who I am now!"

"Because you're not Sora anymore!" Riku screamed before punching Sora straight to the face.

The surprise of the hit alone caused Sora to fall to the floor. Riku didn't stick around. He ran right out of the house with Aerith hot on his trail, screaming at Riku.

'Well, that could've gone better.' Sora briefly thought as he stared at his ceiling.

Aerith returned shortly after to help tend to his split lip. They were silent throughout the whole process, neither asking the other any questions. Sora was grateful for that. He was too ashamed of himself to look at her in the eye. He should have stopped the fight when he saw his mother enter the room but he didn't. He only made it worse by pushing Riku too far.

It was while Aerith was putting everything away when she finally spoke. "I've been thinking" she started. "There's a special school for people who face similar problems to your own."

Sora scrunch his eyebrows together in confusion. "I thought the doctors said that I was the only one who faced amnesia from a heartless attack."

Aerith gave him a sad smile. "It a school for those who have been in some way traumatized from a heartless attack. I feel that you should go Sora. The school has proven to help millions of people and by staying here, you are only becoming more depressed every day." Aerith took a deep breath before cupping Sora's cheek. "I want you to be happy"

Sora leaned into her hand as he smiled towards her. "I am happy Mom. With you"

She gently shook her head as if Sora was being hopeless at the moment. "But not with yourself. You are tearing yourself apart trying to find the balance from the old you to the new you. "

Sora didn't know what to say to that. His mother had a point. It was getting ridiculous. He had even barricaded himself in his own home. Perhaps he should go. But he didn't want to leave his mother all alone in this empty house.

Aerith leaned forward to give Sora a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry about me." She whispered as if she could read his mind. "Do what you need to do to be happy. Because when you are happy, I'm happy."

Tears welled up in Sora's eyes. "I love you mom." He told her as he gave his mom a sudden hug. She laughed off her surprise and hugged him back. "I love you too, Sora"

That week Aerith had Sora enrolled into Castle Oblivion Boarding school for the troubled. All that was left to do was for Sora to go see the principle and sign a few paperwork there. They packed away all of the things that he wished to keep and shipped them off to his new room. Sora found himself excited to the prospect of seeing people who had never met the old him. It was going to be a fresh start with a clean slate.

"Here's some money for anything that you might need. I'll send you some every month so that I won't have to worry about you." Aerith explained as she handed a few bills to which Sora immediately put into his checkered wallet. "Now I want you to be safe and call me if you need anything and I mean anything at all."

Sora laughed at his mother. She was a worry wart sometimes. He could see that she was trying to hold back her tears. "I'll be fine, mom. Thank you"

"All boarding for train 13 to Radiant Garden. All boarding for train 13 to Radiant Garden." The speakers from the train station shouted out alerting Sora that his time was up.

"I have to go mom." He told her quickly as he grabbed the few bags that they hadn't shipped off.

"Your sister will be waiting for you at the station, she will direct you to the school. And Sora." Aerith suddenly pulled him for a hug and a kiss to the cheek. "Good luck" she whispered into his ear before letting go.

Sora held a grin as he started walking to his train. "I love you mom!" he shouted not caring about the stares he got. Things only looked brighter from here on.


	3. Chapter 3 : A new life

There wasn't much Aerith really needed to explain to Sora when it came to everyday life. It seemed that the only thing he forgot was people. He remembered his school studies just fine. Until History was brought up. That was when things got foggy for him. The doctors assumed that Sora forgot all people. Not just who he has met in his life but have even heard about. Such as history since history is made up of mostly people from the past. So Sora had a personal lesson from his mother about the basic of history he will need to know.

Apparently, from what he was told there was not just one world in the universe. There was as many as there were stars since stars turned out to be worlds very far away. They all lived separated and completely oblivious to each other until a wise man name Ansem discovered a way to travel between worlds. With his good friend Yen Sid, a great and powerful wizard, the two connected the worlds so that people can explore and connect with each other. What they didn't know was that they accidentally unleashed an ancient foe upon all the worlds. The heartless. No one really knew where they came from. What they did know was that these creatures had an unquenchable hunger for hearts since they themselves didn't have hearts of their own.

The heartless obliterated many worlds and destroyed so many lives. People fought back by creating the Restoration Committee, an army against the heartless. People all around joined them for their cause. It's been years since they were formed yet people's lives are still being ruined by those savage beasts.

With so many lives lost, people formed a riot in front of Ansem's house wanting him to pay for his careless actions. They blamed him for bringing the heartless. Yet when they broke into his mansion he was nowhere to be seen. People believed that he ran away in cowardice but Aerith told Sora that she believed he left to search for a way to put an end to the heartless once and for all.

Sora stared out of his window in amazement. There was so many worlds that passed him by in speeding lights. He had traveled by train once before with his mother when he went home to Destiny Islands but his thoughts were so consumed with worry that he didn't give the sight a time of day. Now that he felt so free at the prospect of a new life he was seeing everything differently. Instead of being dark and closed off everything looked brighter and open. He wanted to see everything now. To explore as many worlds as he could and experience as much as he can out of life.

"First time on the express kid?" A deep voice asked him.

Sora turned around for the source of the voice only to see one other person in the same compartment as him. It was hard to see the man's features for he hid himself well but from what Sora could see he wore a red coat and had lots of bandages on.

Sora smiled as he answered the man's question. "Kinda, I rode on one before with my mom but I didn't pay attention back then. It's beautiful."

The man nodded his head, agreeing with his statement. "That it is kid."

The man didn't talk to Sora after that and Sora didn't try to come up with conversation. He got the feeling that this guy didn't really care for human interaction with the way he closed himself off. So Sora just went back to his sightseeing until the loud speakers informed him of their arrival to Radiant Garden.

During his leave he gave the man a farewell wave before hopping off the train.

Ever since Sora woke up he has only seen two worlds. Destiny Islands, which he had come from, was always sunny and filled to the brim with friendly people. The other world he only briefly saw was called Traverse Town. That was where the hospital he had awoken in resided. Destiny Islands had a hospital of their own, of course, but he was asleep for three days so Aerith transferred him to get better care. They ran a few tests to try to wake him but he eventually just woke up on his own.

As soon as Sora stepped off the train he was hit by the reality that he was no longer in Destiny Islands. Everything was so different. The sky wasn't as clear and the buildings were a dull lifeless metallic color. It left him feeling cold instead of the warmth he felt at home. Yet, Sora took a deep breath and welcomed the change. This was where his life was truly going to begin.

"Sora! Over here!"

Sora quickly looked over to where he heard the familiar voice. His sister, Yuffie, was jumping up and down as she waved her arms like a lunatic. Everyone around her avoided her like the plague as they gave her strange looks. Sora only heard stories about what he was like before but if he were able to see it before his eyes, he imagined that he acted a lot like his sister. He had to have learned it from somewhere he guessed.

As soon as he was within arm's reach, his sister grabbed a hold of him and held him tightly to her chest as if her life depended on it. "Welcome to Radiant Garden, little brother!"

Sora would have laughed from his sister's actions but he was too busy trying to breath from her death trap grip. Luckily for him, she soon realized how tightly she was holding him for she let go once he started flailing his arms trying to escape.

"How have you been?" she asked as they started to make their way out of the station.

Sora shrugged his shoulders not sure how to answer her question exactly. He didn't want to burden her with his troubles of the past few months so to save her from his endless hours of whining, he gave her a simple one-word classic answer, "Fine."

As they made their made to his new school, Yuffie asked a lot of questions about himself. Such as what he's been up to and what kind of games he liked to play. Sora figured that this was her way of trying to get to know him again. He didn't hear much from her after she left the hospital. He assumed that she was angry at him for forgetting about her. It wasn't until a few months back that she called just to chat. She was really sorry about her outburst. He told her that she was forgiven but really there was nothing for him to forgive. He never once blamed her for getting upset. She was justified in her feelings. If she was the one who forgot about him, he was sure that he would be equally upset.

The sight of a barber shop stopped Sora in his tracks. He used to debate with himself about changing what he looked like just so that people wouldn't recognize him right away. He wanted to give himself some sort of peace from the constant stream of pity faces he saw. He never did though. His mother was having a hard time accepting his condition at the time so to spare her feelings, he put his desire to the side. When she did accept him, he had already started barricading himself so he saw no need for it.

"You want to go in?" Yuffie asked as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Sora never told her about what he went through but their mother told her all about it. She felt guilty for not being there for him like she should have been. She was his big sister and yet she acted like everyone else and blamed Sora when he had no control over it. It wasn't like he asked to forget everyone.

When Sora looked like he was going to protest, she pushed him inside the store. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again. She was going to be there for him now.

The familiar sound of the bell ringing above the front door alerted her old friend, Wedge, to their presence. He was currently working on a man with long pink hair so he quickly told them that he will tend to them as soon as he was finished.

"Yuffie, it's okay. I don't need a haircut." Sora tried to refuse but Yuffie wasn't going to let him talk his way out of this. She had made up her mind already.

"Not only are you getting a haircut dear brother but you are also going to dye your hair. So pick a color." She told him flatly. She had already opened up the booklet of hairstyles and was flipping through the pages to see what would look good on him.

Sora's eyes widen. "What? No! I can't do that!"

Yuffie paused her search to give him a pointed look. "Look Sora, you came to Radiant Garden to start over. You need a new image to do that. Life is too short. Live it while you can. So just pick a damn color." She shoved a palette to his chest, leaving him no room to protest any further.

Sora could only shake his head as he found himself agreeing with her. Why was he so worried about it anyway? It wasn't like he was going to get in trouble for it. His mother would actually be happy to hear about it. It was just like Yuffie said. He came here to start over. So with his new founded courage he pointed to a blue color on the palette. "Why don't I go blue then?" he joked.

Yuffie joined him in laughter and showed him a picture of a Mohawk. "Might as well go big then and get a Mohawk." She joked back.

They pointed out hair styles and odd hair color, laughing the whole time until Wedge finished with his customer. By this point they had picked out a decent hairstyle. He cut his long spikes down to a short spiky mane that was styled to wave over to his right side. As for his hair color, they didn't go to extremes as to pick an odd color such as green or pink. They settled for a golden blonde.

"Not bad looking kid." Yuffie told him before punching his shoulder. "Now I can excuse your odd behavior with blonde jokes."

Sora winced in pain to which added more laughter for Yuffie. He'd never tell her but Yuffie sure was strong. He guessed she had to be though since she worked for the Restoration Committee. She had to stay strong to fight against the heartless.

After their little detour, they headed straight for Castle Oblivion. They wasted no time into signing in and seeing the principle and founder of the School, Xemnas Blades.

Xemnas was an intimating man. He held his shoulders straight and his glare on them the whole time. Whenever Sora dared to look up at the silver haired man straight into his pricing eyes, he would squirm and let his eyes fall back down to his lap. Yuffie held herself together better than he did. She must have met plenty of intimating people for it to not bother her as much as it did him.

"Do you know what the goal here is at Castle Oblivion, Sora?" Xemnas asked, never once letting his posture fall.

"Um" Sora chanced another glance into the man's golden eyes but couldn't look at him for more than five seconds before dropping his gaze once again to his lap. "Isn't it to help those that suffer from a heartless attack?"

Xemnas was silent for a few minutes. Sora could literally hear the clock ticking from the wall as he waited for Xemnas to speak again. He was about to try a different answer when Xemnas finally spoke. "Our goal here is to reconnect with our past selves. All of us were once someone before the heartless ripped that away from us and made us into who we are today. Or rather what we feel today. Nobodies."

Nobodies. That word struck a chord in Sora. He had thought of himself as that on more than one occasion since his awakening. Everyone, including himself, saw the past him as Sora but the current him was not Sora anymore. Sora was a happy goof ball who had no shame when it came to acting like one. He was able to talk to strangers with no fear of rejection and when rejection came, he simple laughed it off. He was someone people was able to get along with easily and shares their fears and worries with him. He wasn't Sora anymore. So who was he now? He was nobody.

"Does that include you?" Yuffie spoke up, her voice never once wavered even when Xemnas focused his glare at her.

"Yes. I, too, have suffered from the heartless." Xemnas told her simply. He didn't elaborate further on his back story. "We have all suffered from these shadowed beasts. If you join this school, Sora, you are expected to follow through our program to reach our goal."

"To become somebody?" Sora questioned. He was unsure of what exactly the goal was in the first place. Was he supposed to accept that he was different now and move on? Or forget his past and become a new person?

"What kind of program are we talking about here? What exactly do you have your students do?" Yuffie asked. Sora was amazed yet again at how much confidence she showed. Did Xemnas not scare her even a little bit? He sure scared him a lot.

"We here at Castle Oblivion give our students the full average student life with only the best therapy sessions every week lead by only the finest, Dr. Vexen Pride. We give our students the one thing they crave the most and they can only find it here."

"And what's that?" Yuffie questioned. She clearly doubted the school already. Sora on the other hand was putty in this man's hand. Everything he has said so far Sora found himself relating too.

"A second chance at normalcy Ms. Fair. After such a traumatic experience only the heartless can bring, everyone tries to live out their lives as if the whole thing never happened to begin with, only to fail. You can't ignore it. What we do here at Castle Oblivion is to help our students learn to accept this and live out their lives peacefully."

"But Sora can't even-" Yuffie stopped her rant once she felt the gentle hold of her brother's hand around her arm. She looked at him in questioning, wondering why he had stopped her.

Sora smiled at her sadly before facing Xemnas. It was funny how much this man scared him before yet all he could feel now was understanding. Xemnas knew of his pain. He felt it first-hand. Sora may not remember the attack like Yuffie was going to say but that didn't prevent the symptoms that followed. He lost a piece of himself that day. He didn't know what it was but it made him feel this emptiness deep down inside that just wouldn't go away. If there was any chance that he could fill this void, he was going to take it.

"I understand, Mr. Blades. Please, let me join your program." Sora told him, his voice filled with confidence. Now that he knew Xemnas shared his pain, he wasn't that scary anymore.

"Are you sure Sora?" Yuffie asked him, her face filled with concern. Sora gave her a firm nod before facing Xemnas again.

Xemnas stared him down as if he was waiting for Sora to back out. When he didn't, Xemnas pushed some paperwork forward and placed a pen on top of it. "Sign the agreement form and then we can finish your enrollment."

As Yuffie and Sora looked over the agreement form Sora saw something that sparked his interest. "What's this about a new name?"

"We here at Castle Oblivion firmly believe that the first step towards acceptance is to love your present self first. Some students find it easier to get past this stage with changing their name." Xemnas explained "Do you wish to change your name as well?"

Sora looked over at Yuffie to ask her if it would be alright but the look Yuffie gave him told him everything he needed to know without forming any words. So he looked back to Xemnas with excitement shining in his eyes. "Can I change my name to Roxas?"


	4. Chapter 4: Speechless

**From now on I'll be using the name Roxas instead of Sora since he changed his name in the last chapter.**

Saix, the school's vice principle, showed Roxas around the school. There were three buildings that circled around a fountain. The building on the left side was the girl's dormitory. Saix made it very clear that boys were not allowed in this building at any given time. Roxas had a feeling that this was a frequent problem for Saix.

Adjacent to the girls was the boys. That was where Roxas would be staying from now on. Before Saix showed him to his room however, Saix directed him to the school building which stood right in the middle of the two dorms.

Roxas half expected the school to be pretty small but it was surprisingly big. Apparently the heartless was more of a problem then he had originally thought.

Saix helped him find all of his classes in the building so he wouldn't be lost once he started classes. Roxas was grateful for that assistance. Destiny Islands was a small world so getting lost was a hard feat to accomplish yet Roxas often found himself lost anyway. It wasn't so much of a problem though once he started barricading himself at home.

After showing him where his classes were Saix showed him to the cafeteria, where lunches were provided. Both dorms had a personal cafeteria for breakfast as well as dinner so that people wouldn't have to travel between the buildings. All cafeterias opened at seven a.m. and closed up at ten p.m.. If Roxas felt the need of a midnight snack he would have to pay for one from one of them vending machines that were scattered all around the campus.

Roxas soon found out that the school even had a pool but it was mostly only used for PE classes. It was only open for the general use on summer break. From the way Saix told Roxas this, he guessed that break ins to the girl's dorms wasn't the only place students like to go to. From the way Saix steamed red from anger at the mere memories of his troubles, Roxas made the mental note not to cross Saix.

Every Saturday at ten a.m. was therapy sessions with Dr. Vexen Pride himself. Dr. Vexen didn't tend to everyone at school of course. He handpicked a group of specialists to help him tend to all the students. There was only a handful of students that he actual saw himself. Roxas being one of them. It must have had to do with his doctor reports. They did say amnesia from a heartless attack was unheard of.

Just when Roxas started to feel overwhelmed from all of the information he received, he found himself standing outside his room door. The numbers 301 was displayed. Roxas grew nervous. He was told that he'd have to share his room with a roommate. He wondered what kind of guy he was.

"Finally this is where you will be staying for the duration of your stay." Saix informed. "Please don't cause any unnecessary trouble here. God knows Axel gives me enough as it is."

Before Roxas could ask any questions, Saix turned and made his way to the elevator.

Roxas took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. He took a hold of his door's handle and turned it. Roxas could feel his hands sweating. What if he didn't get along with his roommate? What if they hated each other? Roxas hoped not. He wanted this to be an enjoyable experience.

When Roxas opened the door however, he was met with an empty room. No one was inside. Disappointed, Roxas made his way inside and closed the door behind him.

His room was small to say the least. On the left side sat a twin bed with pink rose colored sheets and a desk with a forest green laptop and a single rose in a vase rested on it. The wall was covered with pictures of all kinds of flowers.

The other side of the room was bare in comparison. All that sat there was a twin bed with navy blue sheets, an empty desk, and lots of boxes. If he were to take a guess. This was his side of the room.

Roxas brought his bags that he carried with him and dropped them on the floor before falling on his bed. It sure felt nice to lie down after the busy day that he had. On that note, Roxas quickly took out his phone to take a picture of his new look before sending it to his mom with a text that he had finally made it to his room.

It didn't take long for Aerith to write back saying that she loved his hair and that she was so proud of him. Roxas smiled. He really loved his mother. She knew just what to say to raise his mood.

"Yosh" Roxas said as he quickly sat up. He heard the expression used once in one of the animes he watched and just started using it one day. He wasn't sure where but it was fun to do so he kept doing it.

Not one to drag things out, Roxas made his way to his boxes and started to unpack everything. He didn't bring much stuff. He didn't want to be reminded of the life he left behind so he kept it very minimal. Just some clothes to get by until he bought new ones that suited him better, his gaming console, a few games, and some hygiene products. The biggest thing he brought with him was his laptop but that was about it. If there was anything else he wanted or needed he planned to just go out and buy it.

It was around eight p.m. when his roommate finally made an appearance. Roxas had spent the day thinking about what kind of person he was going to be but nothing came close to what the guy was actually like. He introduced himself as Malruxia Dahlia and insisted on calling him Marly. He was taller than Roxas but was still average height. He wasn't lean by any means and had a strongly built chest. His long and not shoulder length long but mid back long hair was rosy pink. Strangely enough, he looked familiar but Roxas couldn't pin point where exactly he had seen the man before. He had only just arrived to Radiant Garden that day.

Roxas later figured out that he had seen Marly at Wedge's Cuts when he got his hair dyed. Marly was the customer Wedge was tending to when Roxas and Yuffie entered the barber shop.

The week passed without any noteworthy events. Roxas got up, ate breakfast, went to school, came back, ate dinner, and then proceeded with going to sleep. Roxas found his classes to be boring for the most part. All except for art. He discovered that he had a hidden talent in that department. Roxas was a bit disappointed when he didn't make any friends by the end of his first week but it was understandable. Roxas wasn't very sociable to begin with so he only had himself to blame for that. He would converse with his classmate, Namine, from time to time but he wouldn't call them friends just yet.

When Saturday rolled around, Roxas found Dr. Vexen to be a tad odd. He never once asked Roxas about the heartless attack even though Roxas clearly couldn't remember it anyway. That was usually the first thing all the previous doctors asked him about. Instead, Dr. Vexen asked about his week. So Roxas told him everything he wanted to know. Dr. Vexen sat in his chair and wrote everything down and occasionally asked a question or two. Once the hour was up, Dr. Vexen dismissed him.

Not exactly knowing what to do for his day off, Roxas walked back to his room to find something to pass the time. Marly wasn't there of course. Roxas quickly learned that Marly was hardly ever in his room. He apparently was a part of the gardening club here and liked to spend his days in the greenhouse as much as possible. Roxas didn't mind in the least. He liked to be alone, as lame as that sounded. He found it be more peaceful and calming then spending his day surrounded by loudmouth people.

Roxas made his way to his desk for some internet browsing only to be bored quickly of that. So he laid down on his bed instead and pulled out his sketchbook for some doodling. He wasn't sure what he was going to draw just yet so he let his mind go blank and let his hand move across the paper with gentle strokes.

The silence was quickly starting to bother him. He wasn't sure why but ever since he woke up in the hospital that day he didn't like to be enveloped in silence for too long. There had to be some kind of noise in the background. He didn't care what. He preferred music but a movie or even a documentary on why the worlds were round would do the trick.

Just as Roxas was about to put on his headphones, his door flew open and slammed shut behind a red head with long spiky hair. It resembled a lot like hedgehog now that he thought about it. Roxas looked at him oddly but the man had yet to notice his presence for he faced the door while panting for some air.

Not long after the red head's sudden entrance, a pounding on Roxas' poor door erupted. "Not fair, Axel! You can't hide in Marly's room! I call cheating!"

The red head laughed. "You should have run faster then, Demyx!"

Roxas wasn't sure what to say. They were clearly friends of his roommate. Should he just ignore them and go back to his doodle or inform the guy of Marly's whereabouts and then proceed to kick him out?

Luckily for him, he didn't have to say anything. The red head, who Roxas guessed was named Axel from what the voice outside his door called him, turned around before freezing in place once he saw the wide eye blonde on the bed.

Axel didn't say anything. He just stood there and stared at him. Not one for an awkward silence, or silence in general, Roxas gave a small nervous wave. "Um, hello."

Hearing Roxas' voice must have broken whatever trance the red head was in for he quickly looked around the room before facing the blonde again. "This is still Marly's room, right?" he asked bewildered.

Roxas chuckled at the pure hopeless expression on the man's face. "Yeah, he's at the Greenhouse right now though." Roxas leaned forward to offer his hand. "I'm Roxas. Marly's new roommate."

A huge grin spread across Axel's face. He gently took a hold of Roxas' hand and just when Roxas got ready to shake, Axel pressed his lips gently to his knuckles. Roxas blushed crimson red.

"I'm Axel. Got it memorized?" His voice was so low and husky that Roxas felt something stir in the bottom of his stomach. He just gaped at the man before him, unable to process what had just transpired. Roxas looked into the guy's eyes instead. That was a big mistake. Axel had the most gorgeous shade of green that Roxas has ever seen. And that was saying something because his mother had held that record until now.

Before Roxas was able to come up with an intelligent answer to the man's question, the door swung open once again. On the other side was Marly with a very pissed off mullet blonde.

"Axel! Where did you put my Sitar!" the blonde screamed.

Axel cursed under his breath before rushing over to the open window that was positioned between the two beds. He quickly looked over to Roxas to give him a wink before jumping out.

It took Roxas two seconds to realize that they were on the third floor and Axel had just jumped to his doom. He quickly ran to the window only to see Axel running safely on the ground.

He heard another scream of frustration coming from the blonde behind him but Roxas ignored the visitor as he watched Axel run off into the distance.


End file.
